Let’s face it; you just can’t control everything, especially when you or a loved
one is sick.Some things, yes, but
not everything.

The problem is that trying to control things that are uncontrollable will drive
you crazy, adding considerable stress to your already over-stressed life.So don’t do it… just leave them alone
and concentrate on the things that you CAN control.Easy to say; hard to do.

Case in point: my wife’s radiation treatment for breast cancer. As it turned
out, her treatments were going to be every day, Monday through Friday, for six
weeks from Dec 1 through Jan 15.We
live in the mountains and had to go down to the city for each treatment, but
that time of year is prime for snow and other weather hazards.I started to worry about it; what if
she missed an appointment, or what if we couldn’t get back home after a
treatment or, even worse, what if we got stuck in the middle?

It was very stressful until I realized that I couldn’t control the treatment
schedule, locations, or weather. All of it was out of my hands.

That’s when I came up with this little saying, “Don’t go there ‘til you get
there.”In other words, don’t worry
about until it happens.Again, easy
to say but hard to do

That doesn’t mean, however that you can’t prepare for what may happen.We all wear seat belts, don’t we??
The preparation alone will give you a sense of control and, if something does
happen you’ll be ready.

If the weather was bad, we prepared by bringing food and blankets, arranging for
care for our animals in case we didn’t get home, and bringing extra medications,
etc. in case we had to spend the night.Other than that, there wasn’t much we could do but I felt much better
about the whole thing.

Remember this little phrase; “Don’t go there ‘til you get there.” – you will use
it just about every day.I cannot
overemphasize this, as I hear it so often on feedback forms and from comments
following my speeches around the country.

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